Large area organic photovoltaics

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein are large area, multi-layer solar devices comprising a substrate, an active area comprising at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material deposited on a surface of the substrate, wherein the donor and acceptor materials are comprised of organic molecules, and wherein particulates are removed from the surface of the substrate before deposition of the donor and acceptor materials. Particulates may be removed by exposing the surface of the substrate to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases. Also disclosed are methods of manufacturing photovoltaic devices comprising providing a substrate, cleaning a surface of the substrate by exposing the surface to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases, and depositing an organic active layer on the surface of the substrate.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/664,058 filed Jun. 25, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

This invention was made with Government support under DE-EE0005310 awarded by the Department of Energy and FA9550-10-1-0339 awarded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The government has certain rights in the invention.

JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

The subject matter of the present disclosure was made by, on behalf of, and/or in connection with one or more of the following parties to a joint university-corporation research agreement: University of Michigan and Global Photonic Energy Corporation. The agreement was in effect on and before the date the subject matter of the present disclosure was prepared, and was made as a result of activities undertaken within the scope of the agreement.

The present disclosure generally relates to methods of making organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices, such as solar cells, through the use of large areas of organic molecular layers.

Photosensitive optoelectronic devices convert electromagnetic radiation into electricity. Solar cells are a type of photosensitive optoelectronic device that are specifically used to generate electrical power.

To produce internally generated electric fields, the usual method is to juxtapose two layers of material with appropriately selected conductive properties, especially with respect to their distribution of molecular quantum energy states. The interface of these two materials is called a photovoltaic junction. In traditional semiconductor theory, materials for forming PV junctions have been denoted as generally being of either n- or p-type. Here n-type denotes that the majority carrier type is the electron. This could be viewed as the material having many electrons in relatively free energy states. The p-type denotes that the majority carrier type is the hole. Such material has many holes in relatively free energy states. The type of the background, i.e., not photo-generated, majority carrier concentration depends primarily on unintentional doping by defects or impurities. The type and concentration of impurities determine the value of the Fermi energy, or level, within the gap between the conduction band minimum and valance band maximum energies. The Fermi energy characterizes the statistical occupation of molecular quantum energy states denoted by the value of energy for which the probability of occupation is equal to ½. A Fermi energy near the conduction band minimum energy indicates that electrons are the predominant carrier. A Fermi energy near the valence band maximum energy indicates that holes are the predominant carrier. Accordingly, the Fermi energy is a primary characterizing property of traditional semiconductors and the prototypical PV junction has traditionally been the p-n interface.

OPV devices are a promising renewable and green energy source because of their potential for low cost solar energy conversion.

When an organic material suitable for an optical device is irradiated with appropriate light a photon is absorbed by a molecular component of the material and, as a result, an excited state of the molecular component is produced: an electron is promoted from the HOMO (highest occupied molecular orbital) state to the LUMO (lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) state of the molecule, or a hole is promoted from the LUMO to the HOMO. Thus, an exciton, i.e. an electron-hole pair state is generated. This exciton state has a natural life-time before the electron and the hole will recombine. In order to create a photocurrent the components of the electron-hole pair have to be separated. The separation can be achieved by juxtaposing two layers of materials with different conductive properties. The interface between the layers forms a photovoltaic heterojunction and it should have an asymmetric conduction characteristic, i.e., it should be capable of supporting electronic charge transport preferably in one direction.

New concepts and approaches have been introduced to improve OPV device performance, and state-of-the-art OPV devices achieve power conversion efficiency values that are close to the threshold required for commercial development. Particulates, however, on substrates (for example, ITO-coated glass), can result in electrical shorts between the electrodes that reduce yield, especially in large-area cells. To develop commercially attractive OPV modules, increasing cell area while maintaining high yield and performance is important.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a multi-layer solar device comprising a substrate, and an active area comprising at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material deposited on a surface of the substrate, wherein the donor and acceptor materials are comprised of organic molecules, and wherein particulates are removed from the surface of the substrate before deposition of the donor and acceptor materials.

In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a multi-layer solar device comprising a pre-cleaned substrate having a surface substantially free of particulates, and an active area comprising at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material disposed on the surface of the substrate, wherein the donor and acceptor materials are comprised of organic molecules.

In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a multi-layer solar device comprising a pre-cleaned substrate having a surface substantially free of particulates, two electrodes in superposed relation disposed on the surface of the pre-cleaned substrate, and an active area comprising at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material, wherein the donor and acceptor materials are comprised of organic molecules located between the two electrodes.

An additional embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a process for manufacturing a photovoltaic device comprising, providing a substrate, cleaning a surface of the substrate by exposing the surface to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases, and depositing an organic active layer on the surface of the substrate.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a process for manufacturing a photovoltaic device comprises, providing a first electrode layer, cleaning the first electrode layer by exposing the first electrode layer to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases, providing a second electrode, wherein an organic active layer is deposited between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer.

In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a process for manufacturing a photovoltaic device comprising, providing a substrate, cleaning a surface of the substrate by exposing the surface to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases, depositing two electrodes in superposed relation on the surface of the substrate, wherein an organic active layer is deposited between the two electrodes.

In yet another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a process for manufacturing a photovoltaic device comprising, providing a first electrode layer, cleaning the first electrode layer by exposing the first electrode layer to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases, providing a second electrode layer, depositing an organic active layer between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, and wherein the thickness of the organic layer is such that it improves yield over a yield obtained without cleaning the first electrode layer with the stream of the at least one compound.

FIG. 1 depicts representative atomic force micrographs of the surface of indium tin oxide-coated glass substrates (a) before and (b) after CO₂ snow cleaning, and (c) the statistics of particle heights on the two differently treated surfaces.

FIG. 2 depicts (a) series resistance (R_(s)A) and fill factor (FF) for SubPc (open squares and dashed line), and DPSQ (solid squares and solid line) based OPV cells employing a C₆₀ acceptor, (b) Short-circuit current (J_(SC)) and power conversion efficiency (η_(p)) for SubPc and DPSQ OPV devices with different areas. The same line symbols are used as in (a).

FIG. 3 depicts dark current density-vs-voltage (J-V) curves for ITO/MoO₃(15 nm)/DPSQ(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al devices with various active areas.

FIG. 4 depicts calculated dark J-V curves assuming R_(s)A=50 Ω·cm² and variable R_(P). Inset: calculated relationship between FF and shunt resistance.

FIG. 5 depicts J-V curves in dark and under 1 sun, AM 1.5G illumination for 6.25 cm² devices showing the effects of the subelectrode.

FIG. 6 depicts current density vs voltage curves under 1 sun, AM 1.5G illumination for three devices: A, B and C represented by a square, circle and triangle in the legend, respectively.

A: (control device): ITO/MoO₃(10 nm)/SubPc(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al B: ITO/PEDOT:PSS(50 nm)/MoO₃(5 nm)/SubPc(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al C: ITO/MoO₃(30 nm)/SubPc(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al

FIG. 7 depicts current density vs voltage curves under 1 sun, AM 1.5G illumination for devices having a structure of ITO/MoO₃(10 nm)/SubPc(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al with various active areas and with snow-plus-solvent cleaned substrates.

FIG. 8 depicts current density vs voltage curves under 1 sun, AM 1.5G illumination for devices having a structure of ITO/MoO₃(10 nm)/SubPc(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al with various active areas and with only snow-cleaned substrates.

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a snow cleaning apparatus, including a CO₂ source, a nozzle and a sample holder.

As used herein, the term “layer” refers to a member or component of a photosensitive device whose primary dimension is X-Y, i.e., along its length and width, and is typically perpendicular to the plane of incidence of the illumination. It should be understood that the term “layer” is not necessarily limited to single layers or sheets of materials. A layer can comprise laminates or combinations of several sheets of materials. In addition, it should be understood that the surfaces of certain layers, including the interface(s) of such layers with other material(s) or layers(s), may be imperfect, wherein said surfaces represent an interpenetrating, entangled or convoluted network with other material(s) or layer(s). Similarly, it should also be understood that a layer may be discontinuous, such that the continuity of said layer along the X-Y dimension may be disturbed or otherwise interrupted by other layer(s) or material(s).

As used herein, the expression “disposed on” permits other materials or layers to exist between a disposed material and the material on which it is disposed. Likewise, the expression “deposited on” permits other materials or layers to exist between a deposited material and the material on which it is deposited. Thus, other materials or layers may exist between a surface of a substrate and a material “disposed on” or “deposited on” the surface of the substrate.

As used herein, the term “yield” refers to the proportion of devices, made or manufactured by a process, that performs within a given range of specifications.

As described herein, exposing the surface of a substrate to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases permits the manufacture of large area solar devices having thin organic layers, e.g., a total deposited thickness of ˜70 nm, without compromising, and even increasing, yield. In some embodiments, the substrate is an ITO-coated substrate.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure provides a multi-layer solar device comprising a substrate, and an active area comprising at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material deposited on a surface of the substrate, wherein the donor and acceptor materials are comprised of organic molecules, and wherein particulates are removed from the surface of the substrate before deposition of the donor and acceptor materials. In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a multi-layer solar device comprising a pre-cleaned substrate having a surface substantially free of particulates, and an active layer comprising at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material disposed on the surface of the substrate, wherein the donor and acceptor materials are comprised of organic molecules.

In some embodiments, the surface of the substrate comprises an electrode, such as an anode or cathode. In other embodiments, the multi-layer solar device further comprises an electrode deposited on the substrate, wherein particulates are removed from the surface of the substrate before deposition of the electrode.

In another embodiment, a multi-layer solar device comprises a pre-cleaned substrate having a surface substantially free of particulates, two electrodes in superposed relation disposed on the surface of the pre-cleaned substrate, and an active area comprising at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material, wherein the donor and acceptor materials are comprised of organic molecules located between the two electrodes.

In some embodiments, the particulates are removed by exposing the surface of the substrate to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases. This process is referred to herein as “snow cleaning.” In some embodiments, a substrate is pre-cleaned by snow cleaning.

In some embodiments, the stream of the at least one compound contains at least gaseous and solid phases. In certain embodiments, the stream of the at least one compound contains gaseous, solid, and liquid phases. In certain embodiments, the stream of the at least one compound comprises a supercritical fluid.

In some embodiments, the at least one compound is chosen to be gaseous at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. In further embodiments, the at least one compound forms a liquid or solid upon cooling below room temperature.

In some embodiments, the exposure to the stream of the at least one compound is via directed flow. In certain embodiments, the at least one compound used to remove particulates is CO₂. This process of CO₂ based cleaning is referred to as CO₂ snow cleaning, or CO₂ cleaning. CO₂ snow cleaning is nondestructive, nonabrasive, residue-free, and environmentally friendly.

In some embodiments, a compound other than, or in addition to, CO₂ is selected and used in a manner as described herein. The molecule chosen could be selected based on solvation properties for a particular contaminate, or chosen to create a stream containing one or more phases chosen from gas, liquid, solid and supercritical phases. Examples of compounds may include ammonia, nitrous oxide, various hydrocarbons such as acetylene, propane, butane or other hydrocarbons, various chlorinated hydrocarbons such as chloroethanes, various fluorinated hydrocarbons such as fluoroethanes, or mixtures thereof. Exemplary compounds include those that form a liquid or solid upon cooling below room temperature.

In some embodiments, snow-cleaned substrates are prepared by exposing a surface of the substrate to at least one compound, such as CO₂, around its triple point, i.e., in various parts of the stream, gas, liquid, and solid phases are present.

In general, snow cleaning relies on the expansion of a liquid or gaseous compound, e.g., CO₂, as it emerges from an orifice. The resulting stream of material, e.g, a combination of at least solid and gaseous phases, physically remove particulates by the momentum of the impacting solid particles and/or by the momentum of the gas, thereby overcoming the adhesional force binding particulates to the surface. Other residues on the substrate can be removed by dissolution of contaminates into a liquid or supercritical fluid.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the active area of the solar device ranges from about 0.01 cm² to about 1000 cm², from about 0.1 cm² to about 100 cm², from about 0.5 cm² to about 50 cm², from about 1 cm² to about 10 cm², and from about 2.56 cm² to about 6.25 cm². In yet another embodiment, the active area ranges from about 0.1 cm² to about 6.25 cm².

In some embodiments, the active area of the solar device is a large area of at least about 0.25 cm², about 0.5 cm², about 1 cm², about 5 cm², about 6.25 cm², about 10 cm², about 50 cm², about 100 cm², or about 1000 cm².

Removed particulates may vary in size. In some embodiments, particulates that are removed range in diameter from about 5 nm to about 1000 nm, from about 15 nm to about 200 nm, from about 20 nm to about 100 nm, and from about 30 nm to about 60 nm.

In some embodiments, the organic active layer has a thickness ranging from about 10 nm to about 400 nm, from about 15 nm to about 120 nm, from about 20 nm to about 100 nm, and from about 50 to about 80 nm.

In some embodiments, devices are prepared using snow-cleaned substrates without any additional cleaning techniques. In another embodiment, the surface of the substrate is cleaned using a technique in addition to snow cleaning. Non-limiting examples of such additional techniques include wiping with a dry or wetted clean wipe, sonicating in detergent-water mixtures, and soaking in solvents such as, for example, trichloroethylene, acetone, and isopropanol.

In yet another embodiment, snow cleaning increases yield without compromising efficiency. In some embodiments, snow cleaning reduces or eliminates short circuits in the solar device.

An additional embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a process for manufacturing a photovoltaic device comprising, providing a substrate, cleaning a surface of the substrate by exposing the surface to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases, and depositing an organic active layer on the surface of the substrate.

In some embodiments, the surface of the substrate exposed to the stream of the at least one compound comprises an electrode, such as an anode or cathode. In some embodiments, the process for manufacturing a photovoltaic device further comprises depositing two electrodes in superposed relation on the cleaned surface of the substrate, wherein the organic active layer is deposited between the two electrodes.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a process for manufacturing a photovoltaic device comprises, providing a first electrode layer, cleaning the first electrode layer by exposing the first electrode layer to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases, providing a second electrode, wherein an organic active layer is deposited between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer.

In yet another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a process for manufacturing a photovoltaic device comprising, providing a first electrode layer, cleaning the first electrode layer by exposing the first electrode layer to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid and combinations thereof, providing a second electrode layer, depositing an organic active layer between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, wherein the thickness of the organic active layer is such that it improves yield over a yield obtained without cleaning the first electrode layer with the stream of the at least one compound.

The organic active layer as used herein may comprise at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material.

In some embodiments, the stream of the at least one compound contains at least gaseous and solid phases. In certain embodiments, the stream of the at least one compound contains gaseous, solid, and liquid phases. In certain embodiments, the stream of the at least one compound comprises a supercritical fluid.

In some embodiments, the at least one compound is chosen to be gaseous at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. In further embodiments, the at least one compound forms a liquid or solid upon cooling below room temperature.

In some embodiments, the exposure to the at least one compound is via directed flow. In certain embodiments, the at least one compound is CO₂.

In some embodiments, a compound other than, or in addition to, CO₂ is selected and used in a manner as described herein. The molecule chosen could be selected based on solvation properties for a particular contaminate, or chosen to create a stream containing one or more phases chosen from gas, liquid, solid and supercritical phases. Examples of compounds may include ammonia, nitrous oxide, various hydrocarbons such as acetylene, propane, butane or other hydrocarbons, various chlorinated hydrocarbons such as chloroethanes, various fluorinated hydrocarbons such as fluoroethanes, or mixtures thereof. Exemplary compounds include those that form a liquid or solid upon cooling below room temperature.

In certain embodiments, the organic active layer has an area ranging from about 0.01 cm² to about 1000 cm², from about 0.1 cm² to about 100 cm², from about 0.5 cm² to about 50 cm², from about 1 cm² to about 10 cm², and from about 2.56 cm² to about 6.25 cm². In certain embodiments, the active area ranges from about 0.1 cm² to about 6.25 cm².

In some embodiments, the organic active layer has a large area of at least about 0.25 cm², about 0.5 cm², about 1 cm², about 5 cm², about 6.25 cm², about 10 cm², about 50 cm², about 100 cm², or about 1000 cm².

In some embodiments, the organic active layer has a thickness ranging from about 10 nm to about 400 nm, from about 15 nm to about 120 nm, from about 20 nm to about 100 nm, and from about 50 to about 80 nm.

Additional layers, e.g., buffer layers and smoothing layers, may be deposited between the two electrodes. In some embodiments, the thickness of the deposited layers (e.g., buffer layers, smoothing layers, and/or active layers) are chosen to improve yield. In some embodiments, increasing the thickness of the deposited layers (e.g. buffer layers, smoothing layers, and/or active layers) improves yield.

In one embodiment, snow cleaning is performed before loading into a chamber, such as in the room ambient. In another embodiment, snow cleaning is performed in a load lock of a deposition tool, wherein the load lock is a chamber that holds a substrate. In some embodiments, the chamber is pumped down, a valve is opened to the chamber, and a substrate is transferred into the chamber. This allows samples to be loaded into the deposition chamber without exposing the chamber to ambient or atmospheric pressure gases.

In yet another embodiment, snow cleaning is performed in a deposition chamber.

In one embodiment, the present disclosure relates to an active area within a solar device comprising one or more materials that include a variety of conjugated organic molecules, such as, but not limited to phthalocyanines, functionalized squaraines, functionalized polyacenes, oligothiophenes, merocyanine dyes, modified perylenes (e.g. DIP or DBP), conducting polymers, low-bandgap polymers, etc. as donor materials, and acceptor materials such as, but not limited to, the fullerenes, C₆₀ or C₇₀, or modified polyacenes such as NTCDA, PTCDA, PTCBI, PTCDI, etc.

In some embodiments, the organic active layers are deposited on a substrate, for example, a piece of glass, metal or polymer. For solar cells, for example, the substrate may be transparent, such as glass. In some embodiments, the substrate comprises an electrode. In particular, the surface of the substrate exposed to the stream of the at least one compound may comprise the electrode. The electrode may be applied to serve as a conducting contact to the organic active layers. In some embodiments, the conducting electrode layer comprises an oxide, such as, indium/tin oxide (ITO).

In another embodiment, OPV devices are made by sandwiching organic layers between two metallic conductors, typically a layer of ITO with high work function and a layer of low work function metal such as Al, Mg or Ag.

In some embodiments, the substrate surface is cleaned and particulates are removed before depositing layers on the substrate.

In another embodiment, increasing the thickness of deposited layers can at least partially mitigate yield loss. Thickness can be increased by using a buffer layer, e.g., poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) or a thick, e.g., 250 nm, polymer bulk heterojunction active layer or a thicker than normal (t=103 nm) organic layer, e.g., pentacene/C₆₀/BCP. In yet another embodiment, a thick, MoO₃ layer can be deposited on a substrate surface, such as an ITO surface.

In some embodiments, solar cells fabricated and cleaned according to the methods of the present disclosure have a reduced occurrence of electrical shorts. Additionally, in some embodiments, a subelectrode structure may be used to reduce device resistance.

In some embodiments, OPV devices may be fabricated using one or more substrate cleaning procedures, e.g., solvent cleaning, in addition to snow cleaning. Snow cleaning, in particular CO₂ snow cleaning, was found to be more effective than conventional solvent cleaning in reducing the density of defects that lead to shorts and variations in device performance, especially large-area devices.

EXAMPLES

The present disclosure will now be described in greater detail by the following non-limiting examples. It is understood that the skilled artisan will envision additional embodiments consistent with the disclosure provided herein.

Example 1

Preparing substrates without snow cleaning: SubPc/C₆₀ devices with areas A>0.64 cm² have low yield due to shorts caused by particulates. To improve yield, a thick buffer layer (PEDOT:PSS or MoO₃) prior to active layer deposition was employed. The device structures were ITO/Buffer layer(s)/SubPc(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al. Materials were deposited on ITO-coated glass substrates, with an ITO thickness of ˜100 nm and a sheet resistance of 20±5 n/sq. MoO₃, boron subphthalocyanine chloride (SubPc), C₆₀, and bathocuproine (BCP) were sequentially thermally evaporated at rates of 0.05, 0.1, 0.1, and 0.05 nm/s, respectively, followed by a 100 nm thick Al cathode deposited at 0.1 nm/s through a shadow mask. All deposition rates and thicknesses were measured using a quartz crystal monitor and calibrated by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. MoO₃ (Acros, 99.999%) and BCP (Lumtec, 99.5%) were used as received, and SubPc (Lumtec, 99%) and C₆₀ (MER, 99.9%) were further purified in a single cycle by thermal gradient sublimation. In one example, PEDOT:PSS (H. G. Stark, Clevios PH 500) was spun-coated, while MoO₃ was thermally evaporated in vacuum.

The fabricated device structures were as follows:

Device A (control): ITO/MoO₃(10 nm)/SubPc(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al); Device B: ITO/PEDOT:PSS(50 nm)/MoO₃(5 nm)/SubPc(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al, Device C: ITO/MoO₃(30 nm)/SubPc(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al.

As shown in Table 1 and FIG. 6, the increase of deposited layer thickness can degrade device performance. For the small area device (0.00785 cm²), the power conversion efficiency of the control structure (Device A: MoO₃(10 nm)) was η_(p)=2.69±0.03%, decreasing to 2.47±0.08% for devices with a PEDOT:PSS smoothing layer (Device B: PEDOT:PSS(50 nm)/MoO₃(5 nm)), and 2.32±0.02% for devices with a relatively thick MoO₃ layer (Device C: MoO₃(30 nm)). The decrease in efficiency for Devices B and C as compared to A arises primarily from a reduced fill factor. It is foreseeable that one would want to both snow clean and use a thicker buffer layer to minimize shorting as much as possible.

Fitting the dark J-V characteristics following the theory of Giebink, as described in C. Giebink, G. P. Wiederrecht, M. R. Wasielewski, and S. R. Forrest, Phys. Rev. B 82, 155305 (2010), we found that the series resistance of Device C was R_(S)A=5.4±0.1 Ω·cm² whereas R_(S)A=0.77±0.02 Ω·cm² for Device A. The increase in R_(S)A was due to the increased MoO₃ layer thickness, which in turn led to a reduced FF and thus η_(p). Moreover, Device B had a larger dark saturation current density and smaller ideality factor that also led to a reduction in FF.

TABLE 1 The performance of representative SubPc/C₆₀ devices. R_(S)A J_(sC) Device FF η_(P) (%) (Ω · cm²) η_(D) (mA/cm²) A 0.62 ± 0.01 2.69 ± 0.03 0.77 ± 0.02 6.7 ± 0.6 (2.8 ± 0.1) × 10⁻³ B 0.56 ± 0.01 2.47 ± 0.08 1.2 ± 0.1 4.5 ± 0.1 (1.3 ± 0.1) × 10⁻⁴ C 0.53 ± 0.01 2.32 ± 0.02 5.4 ± 0.1 8.4 ± 0.3 (1.5 ± 0.1) × 10⁻⁵

Example 2

An alternative to thicker buffer or active layers is to remove particulates and other asperities from the ITO surface using CO₂ snow cleaning. Materials were deposited on ITO-coated glass substrates, with an ITO thickness of ˜100 nm and a sheet resistance of 20±5 Ω/sq. Prior to film deposition, the ITO was cleaned as follows: first the substrate was gently wiped with a dry particle free wipe followed by 5 minute sonication in a tergitol-deionized water solution, 5 minute sonication in acetone, 10 minute soak in boiling trichloroethylene, 10 minute sonication in acetone, and 10 minute immersion in boiling isopropanol. Snow cleaning was then performed for 90 seconds using an Applied Surface Technologies (New Providence, N.J., 07974) high-purity Model K4 snow cleaner. The substrates were held at 50° C., with a nozzle angle of 45° with respect to the substrate, and a nozzle-to-substrate distance of ˜5 cm. The ITO was then exposed to ultraviolet-ozone for 10 minutes before loading into a high vacuum chamber (base pressure <2×10−7 Torr). Next, MoO₃, boron subphthalocyanine chloride (SubPc), C₆₀, and bathocuproine (BCP) were sequentially thermally sublimed at rates of 0.05, 0.1, 0.1, and 0.05 nm/s, respectively, followed by a 100 nm thick Al cathode deposited at 0.1 nm/s through a shadow mask. All deposition rates and thicknesses were measured using a quartz crystal monitor and calibrated by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. MoO₃ (Acros, 99.999%) and BCP (Lumtec, 99.5%) were used as received, and SubPc (Lumtec, 99%) and C₆₀ (MER, 99.9%) were further purified in a single cycle by thermal gradient sublimation.

Current density-vs.-voltage (J-V) characteristics in the dark and under simulated, 1 sun AM 1.5G solar illumination from a filtered Xe lamp were measured in a high-purity N2 filled glovebox. Optical intensities were referenced using an NREL-calibrated Si detector, and photocurrent measurements were corrected for spectral mismatch. Errors quoted correspond to the standard deviation for a device population of three or more.

Atomic force microscope (AFM) images in FIG. 1( a) show large particles distributed on the surface prior to snow cleaning, while FIG. 1( b) shows that the largest particulates in the population had been completely removed by the cleaning process. The root-mean-square roughness for the ITO substrates decreased from 1.76 nm to 1.21 nm, but more importantly, the peak-to-valley roughness decreased from 84.2 nm to 32.4 nm. The largest of the particulates is most likely to short the devices as they were larger than the total organic layer thickness, and often were thicker than the entire active organic layer region. The particle size count statistics in FIG. 1( c) show that snow cleaning had removed most median-sized, and all large particles.

Large-area, snow-cleaned devices with thin organic layers (i.e. t_(org)≈75 nm) were also fabricated. Thermally evaporated and solution-processed devices with structures of ITO/MoO₃(10 nm)/SubPc(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al (Device D) and ITO/MoO₃(15 nm)/DPSQ(13 nm)/C₆₀(40 nm)/BCP(8 nm)/Al (Device E), respectively, were prepared with active areas from 0.01 to 6.25 cm². The partially solution-processed DPSQ/C₆₀ devices were fabricated where the DPSQ was spin coated on the MoO₃ surface from 1.6 mg/ml chloroform solution at a rate of 3000 rpm for 30 seconds.

As the area increases, no significant changes were observed in the open-circuit voltage (V_(OC)), although the FF decreased for both Devices D and E as shown in FIG. 2. The decrease in FF was due to the increase in series resistance from R_(s)A≈1 Ω·cm² for device with A=0.01 cm², to R_(S)A≈180 Ω·cm² for the device with A=6.25 cm², resulting in a concomitant decrease in short-circuit current (J_(SC)). From FIG. 2, it is apparent that the series resistance needed to be R_(S)A<10 Ω·cm² to maintain the small-area device performance with increasing device size.

In addition to the increase in R_(S)A, larger area devices can also exhibit high dark current. In FIG. 3, the dark J-V characteristics for DPSQ/C₆₀ cells with different areas were fitted using the analysis of Giebink described in C. Giebink, G. P. Wiederrecht, M. R. Wasielewski, and S. R. Forrest, Phys. Rev. B 82, 155305 (2010). The results showed that the dark current due to leakage originating from the C₆₀ acceptor layer had an area-independent saturation current density of J_(sA)=(5.7±1.7)×10⁻¹¹ mA/cm² and a corresponding ideality factor of n_(A)=1.50±0.01. However, the leakage dark current at low bias (e.g. less than 0.4 V) and often associated with the donor, J_(sD), increased by approximately 3 decades, from (1.0±0.3)×10⁻⁷ mA/cm² to (0.9±0.1)×10⁻⁴ mA/cm² as area increased from 0.01 cm² to 6.25 cm², an approximately linear correspondence. The increased dark current indicated an increased leakage across the donor due to shunt paths induced by particulates not removed by snow cleaning. Hence, it was the donor, deposited directly on the ITO surface, whose leakage was most directly affected by particles on the surface, leading to the observed area dependence of J_(sD).

In addition to an increase in dark current and series resistance, we also found that FF is reduced by shunt paths. This can be understood by including R_(p)A in the excitonic semiconductor ideal diode equation of Giebink, viz:

$\begin{matrix} {J = {{J_{s}\left\lbrack {{\exp \left( \frac{V - {{J \cdot R_{S}}A}}{{nk}_{B}T\text{/}q} \right)} - \xi} \right\rbrack} + \frac{V - {{J \cdot R_{S}}A}}{R_{p}A} - {{J_{ph}(V)}.}}} & (1) \end{matrix}$

For simplicity, we can consider the case of a symmetric diode, with identical transport properties and injection barriers for both electrons and holes. Here, J_(s) and n are the symmetric device saturation current and ideality factor, respectively, J_(ph) is the photocurrent density, k_(B) is the Boltzmann constant, T is the temperature, and q is electronic charge. Finally, ξ is the polaron-pair dissociation rate relative to its equilibrium value.

FIG. 4 (inset) shows the dependence of FF on R_(p)A, where J_(SC)=J_(ph)=4.5 mA/cm², J_(s)=1×10⁻⁹ mA/cm², n=2, ξ=1 and R_(S)=0. The simulation showed that FF decreased with R_(p), and was significantly reduced for R_(p)A≦2 kΩ·cm². We also plotted the J-V characteristics predicted by Eq. (1) for several values of R_(p)A in FIG. 4, where we assumed R_(S)A=50 Ω·cm². There was a pronounced dependence of FF on R_(p)A which is reflected in the data in FIG. 4. For example, when the shunt resistance was 10³ Ω·cm², FF was reduced by 25% from its value when R_(p)A→∞.

Another factor that led to deterioration in large-area OPV performance was the increase of series resistance dominated by the lateral resistance in the ITO layer. To reduce the effect of R_(S) on large-area OPV cells, we used a subelectrode structure for devices D and E (FIG. 5 inset). The subelectrode allowed the carriers to travel a shorter distance from their point of generation before being collected at the metal contact. As shown in FIG. 5, under 1 sun, AM 1.5G illumination, the A=6.25 cm² SubPc/C₆₀ device with no subelectrode showed η_(P)=1.26±0.05% with J_(SC)=3.55±0.04 mA/cm², FF=0.32±0.01, and R_(S)A=179±4 Ω·cm². Cells with a single subelectrode had a decreased series resistance of R_(S)A=78±2 Ω·cm², resulting in J_(SC)=3.91±0.09 mA/cm², FF=0.46±0.01, and η_(p)=2.02±0.08%, while four subelectrodes further decreased the resistance to R_(S)A=56±3 Ω·cm², resulting in J_(SC)=3.95±0.05 mA/cm², FF=0.50±0.01, and η_(P)=2.21±0.05%. This represented nearly a doubling of η_(P) compared to the device lacking a subelectrode. Similarly, for the DPSQ/C₆₀ device, the structure with a single subelectrode reduced R_(S)A from 152±4 Ω·cm² to 96±1 Ω·cm², leading to a corresponding increase of J_(SC) from 4.47 mA/cm² to 4.76 mA/cm², FF from 0.29 to 0.40, and η_(P) from 1.21% to 1.78%.

Example 3

Yields were investigated by fabricating a population of 1.44 cm² devices. The statistics of nineteen 1.44 cm² out of twenty-seven total devices with snow-plus-solvent cleaned substrates, and sixteen 1.44 cm² out of twenty-six devices with snow-cleaned-only substrates (without conventional solvent cleaning) were compared in Table 2.

TABLE 2 Parameters of OPVs with area of 1.44 cm² with and without solvent cleaning. The standard deviation from the mean is SD. Cleaning Jsc Process V_(OC)(V) (mA/cm²) FF η_(P) (%) Snow-plus- Mean 1.09 4.13 0.56 2.52 solvent SD/Mean 0.4% 1.1% 3.8% 4.0% Snow only Mean 1.10 3.83 0.50 2.10 SD/Mean 1.3% 1.3% 2.7% 3.1%

Using only CO₂ snow cleaning, comparable yield of both small and large-area devices were obtained (FIG. 8). In contrast, using only solvent cleaning, all devices with area >0.64 cm² were shorted. Using PEDOT:PSS (Device B) and thicker MoO₃ (Device C) coatings on the ITO, the yields of 2.56 cm² devices were 50% and 67%, respectively. However, the thinner devices using snow-cleaned substrates had a higher yield (˜70%). This indicates that CO₂ snow cleaning is considerably more effective in reducing surface contaminants than using either thick buffer layers or solvent cleaning alone. For both snow-plus-solvent cleaned (FIG. 7), and snow-cleaned-only substrates, the standard deviations of V_(OC) and J_(SC) from their mean values were ˜1%. The standard deviation in fill factor was ˜4.0% and was responsible for most of the variation in device efficiency. The spread in FF was caused by variations in dark current that arise from increased probability of encountering small particles in large-area devices, and variations in R_(S)A (from 41 Ω·cm² to 69 Ω·cm²) due to variations encountered while probing devices.

Snow cleaning of ITO-coated glass substrates is effective in the removal of contaminant particles, hence improving the yield of large-area OPV cells. Using snow cleaning, large-area devices exhibited a standard deviation of efficiency of ≦4.0% from the average. Further, the decrease of shunt resistance and increase of dark current due to particulates is evident when only conventional solvent substrate cleaning was employed. The existence of large particulates further resulted in the degradation of large-area device efficiency, fill factor, and yield. The relationship between FF and dark current was shown to be sensitive to the existence of shunt paths (and hence R_(p)A) caused by large particles. Furthermore, subelectrodes can reduce the series resistance, leading to a power efficiency of 2.21±0.05% of SubPc/C₆₀ device with an area of 6.25 cm²; or approximately 82% that of an analogous device with an area of only 0.00785 cm². 

What is claimed is:
 1. A multi-layer solar device comprising: a substrate; and an active area comprising at least one donor material and at least one acceptor material deposited on a surface of the substrate, wherein the donor and acceptor materials are comprised of organic molecules, and wherein particulates are removed from the surface of the substrate before deposition of the donor and acceptor materials.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the particulates are removed by exposing the surface of the substrate to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases.
 3. The device of claim 2, wherein the stream of the at least one compound contains at least gaseous and solid phases.
 4. The device of claim 2, wherein the stream of the at least one compound contains gaseous, solid, and liquid phases.
 5. The device of claim 2, wherein the stream of the at least one compound comprises a supercritical fluid.
 6. The device of claim 2, wherein the at least one compound is chosen to be gaseous at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.
 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the at least one compound forms a liquid or solid upon cooling below room temperature.
 8. The device of claim 2, wherein the at least one compound is chosen from a solvent for a known contaminant.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein the surface of the substrate comprises an electrode.
 10. The device of claim 1, further comprising an electrode deposited on the substrate, wherein particulates are removed from the surface of the substrate before deposition of the electrode.
 11. The device of claim 6, wherein the at least one compound is chosen from ammonia, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, fluorinated hydrocarbons, and mixtures thereof.
 12. The device of claim 11, wherein the hydrocarbons are chosen from acetylene, propane and butane, the chlorinated hydrocarbons are chosen from chloroethanes, and the fluorinated hydrocarbons are chosen from fluoroethanes.
 13. The device of claim 2, wherein the at least one compound is CO₂.
 14. The device of claim 2, wherein the surface of the substrate is cleaned using a technique in addition to exposing the surface of the substrate to a stream of the at least one compound.
 15. The device of claim 14, wherein the additional technique is solvent cleaning.
 16. The device of claim 2, wherein the removal of particulates from the surface of the substrate increases yield.
 17. The device of claim 2, wherein the removed particulates have a diameter ranging from about 5 nm to about 1000 nm.
 18. The device of claim 17, wherein the removed particulates have a diameter ranging from about 15 nm to about 200 nm.
 19. The device of claim 18, wherein the removed particulates have a diameter ranging from about 20 nm to about 100 nm.
 20. The device of claim 1, wherein the active area ranges from about 0.01 cm² to about 1000 cm².
 21. The device of claim 1, wherein the active area is a large area of at least about 0.25 cm².
 22. A process for manufacturing a photovoltaic device comprising: providing a substrate; cleaning a surface of the substrate by exposing the surface to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases; and depositing an organic active layer on the surface of the substrate.
 23. The process of claim 22, wherein the stream of the at least one compound contains at least gaseous and solid phases.
 24. The process of claim 22, wherein the stream of the at least one compound contains gaseous, solid, and liquid phases.
 25. The process of claim 22, wherein the stream of the at least one compound comprises a supercritical fluid.
 26. The process of claim 22, wherein the at least one compound is chosen to be gaseous at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.
 27. The process of claim 26, wherein the at least one compound forms a liquid or solid upon cooling below room temperature.
 28. The process of claim 22, wherein the at least one compound is chosen from a solvent that dissolves a known contaminate.
 29. The process of claim 22, wherein the at least one compound is chosen from ammonia, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, fluorinated hydrocarbons, and mixtures thereof.
 30. The process of claim 29, wherein the hydrocarbons are chosen from acetylene, propane and butane, the chlorinated hydrocarbons are chosen from chloroethanes, and the fluorinated hydrocarbons are chosen from fluoroethanes.
 31. The process of claim 22, wherein the at least one compound is CO₂.
 32. The process of claim 22, wherein the surface of the substrate exposed to the stream of the at least one compound comprises an electrode.
 33. The process of claim 22, further comprising depositing two electrodes in superposed relation on the cleaned surface of the substrate, wherein the organic active layer is deposited between the two electrodes.
 34. The process of claim 22, further comprising cleaning the surface of the substrate with an additional cleaning technique prior to the deposition of the organic active layer.
 35. The process of claim 34, wherein the additional technique is solvent cleaning.
 36. The process of claim 22, wherein the organic active layer has an area ranging from about 0.01 cm² to about 1000 cm².
 37. The process of claim 22, wherein the organic active layer has a large area of at least about 0.25 cm².
 38. The process of claim 22, wherein the organic active layer has a total thickness ranging from about 10 nm to about 400 nm.
 39. The process of claim 38, wherein the thickness ranges from about 15 nm to about 120 nm.
 40. The process of claim 39, wherein the thickness ranges from about 20 nm to about 100 nm.
 41. The process of claim 40, wherein the thickness ranges from about 50 nm to about 80 nm.
 42. The process of claim 38, wherein the thickness of the organic active layer is chosen to improve yield.
 43. The process of claim 22, wherein the exposure is via flow of a directed stream of the at least one compound.
 44. The process of claim 22, wherein the cleaning is performed before loading the substrate into a deposition chamber.
 45. The process of claim 22, wherein the cleaning is performed in the load lock of a deposition tool.
 46. The process of claim 22, wherein the cleaning is performed in a deposition chamber.
 47. A process for manufacturing a photovoltaic device comprising: providing a first electrode layer; cleaning the first electrode layer by exposing the first electrode layer to a stream of at least one compound comprising one or more phases chosen from supercritical, gaseous, solid, and liquid phases; providing a second electrode layer; wherein an organic active layer is deposited between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer.
 48. The process of claim 47, wherein the stream of the at least one compound contains at least gaseous and solid phases.
 49. The process of claim 47, wherein the stream of the at least one compound contains gaseous, solid, and liquid phases.
 50. The process of claim 47, wherein the stream of the at least one compound comprises a supercritical fluid.
 51. The process of claim 47, wherein the at least one compound is chosen to be gaseous at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.
 52. The process of claim 51, wherein the at least one compound forms a liquid or solid upon cooling below room temperature.
 53. The process of claim 47, wherein the at least one compound is chosen from a solvent that dissolves a known contaminate.
 54. The process of claim 51, wherein the at least one compound is chosen from ammonia, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, fluorinated hydrocarbons, and mixtures thereof.
 55. The process of claim 54, wherein the hydrocarbons are chosen from acetylene, propane and butane, the chlorinated hydrocarbons are chosen from chloroethanes, and the fluorinated hydrocarbons are chosen from fluoroethanes.
 56. The process of claim 47, wherein the at least one compound is CO₂.
 57. The process of claim 47, wherein the organic active layer has a large area of at least about 0.25 cm². 